335. Nineteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 307 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
Our Lordâs listeners were quite familiar with the scene he now describes. Every autumn they used to see flocks of sheep being brought down from the highland pastures to their winter sheepfolds. If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray?
Perhaps the sheep that was not with the others in the sheepfold was simply straggling behind. Maybe it was just idly nibbling at the grass along the way, or wandering among the bushes. Or possibly it was already dead, killed by some beast of prey. But no shepherd ever abandons a sheep that has gone astray. He leaves the rest of the flock in a safe place and goes off to look for the lost sheep.
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep, regardless of the difficulties, and he does not give up until he finds it. Our Lordâs perseverance is wonderful! My daughter, my son, if the thought should ever cross your mind, as a diabolical temptation to take your peace away (bear in mind that the devil would strip you, if he could, of all the gifts God has given you, especially faith, purity and vocation); if, as I was saying, you ever suffered the temptation of thinking you had strayed so far from God that you couldnât return, remember how, as in the parable, Christ always goes to look for the soul that has gone astray; and he for his part never denies you the grace to begin again.
In the Work, we see Jesus seeking out the sheep in every word of affection and support, in every act of clear guidance by the Directors, in the form of a correction, in some act of kindness, or in some helpful piece of reading. ⌠We see his action too in all those memorials to Godâs great mercy which are dotted throughout the history of the Work.
Then, if you are humble and acknowledge your mistakes, you will persevere. Try to raise your eyes to heaven; donât just look at things from a purely selfish point of view. Have faith and hope, and trust in the love which Jesus has for you. He is the Good Shepherd, and for your sake he will make his way through crags and ravines, in order to take you in his arms, hug you to his wounded breast, and urge you to be faithful. It is only if you reject him with a flat âNoâ, or if you are foolishly determined to throw yourself over the precipice, that he will be unable to bring you back to the right path.
Lord, knowing that you are the Good Shepherd and that we are sheep of your flock, how confident we can be, and how easy it is to persevere! Quia ipse est Dominus Deus noster, et nos populus pascuae eius et oves manus eius (for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand). We are in the hands of Jesus!
The search is tiring, but the shepherd keeps on following the trail of the lost sheep over the rough terrain. He looks into every gully, hurriedly, as nightfall approaches. One might expect him to be angry with the lost sheep, intending to teach it a lesson with his crook. But he doesnât think like that. As our Lord says: if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
My daughter, my son, if you should ever go astray, either a lot or a little, donât deprive our Lord of the joy of finding you and of being able to say: âHereâs a sheep of mine who wants to be faithful, who wants to persevere in my flock.â
Fraternity: we are all good shepherds to one another.
In the Work we are all sheep in Christâs sheep fold, but we are also good shepherds to one another. First of all, we have to be sensitive to the needs of others and be aware of what is on their minds: their concerns, their problems or their sorrows. If we are too self-centred or engrossed in ourselves and not attentive to those around us, we wonât notice when there is something bothering them, and as a result we wonât be there to help them when they need us.
Our common denominator makes us put into practice that alter alterius onera portate, bear one anotherâs burdens. That doesnât mean simply putting up with someone. It means willingly and cheerfully helping them if they find it difficult to fulfil their duties. I ask God that it may always be said of my sons and daughters that congregatusque est omnis populus quasi vir unus (all the people gathered as one man), that you are all united as one, for spiritual things, for the things that have to do with God.
We should show our fraternity in practical ways, alert to see how we can be of service to our brothers or sisters. That way, inspired by Love and the humility that comes from self-knowledge, we can say to our Lord that we want to follow in his footsteps, non verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate, not in word or speech, but in deed and in truth. Like that we will answer Godâs call with a cry of genuine self-giving, wanting to respond to Godâs grace: ecce ego, quia vocasti me: here I am, for you called me!
God wants us to help one another as we strive for holiness. None of us can journey alone. Our strength isnât simply the result of our own effort; it is also the fruit of the grace of God and the charity of our brothers and sisters. Some day we will all be together in heaven, united like an army in battle array. Some of the members of this army of peace are strong and tireless, while others for various reasons can experience periods of exhaustion and weakness. Then the energy of the strong ones makes up for the tiredness of those who are weak: frater qui adiuvatur a fratre quasi civitas firma, a brother helped by a brother is like a walled city.
Characteristics of our fraternal spirit.
Donât be afraid to love one another as brothers or sisters, our Father says to us. Love one another truly, my children. Strengthened by this love, by this charity of Christ, there will be no difficulty you cannot overcome, and you will be faithful You will support one another, and if anyone feels they are about to fall, they will be sustained by the others: alter alterius onera portate, et sic adimplebitis legem Christi (bear one anotherâs burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ).
Our prayer is often a dialogue of love and self-examination. We should frequently talk to God about fraternity. We should ask ourselves: how can I fulfil my fraternal duties better? Am I really prepared to put myself out, and do I do so gladly? Do I give myself lovingly, day by day? Am I on the lookout for any signs of tiredness in my brothersâ or sistersâ interior struggle, or lukewarmness in their piety, or lack of zeal in their apostolate?
My children, my very dearest children! Donât forget that, through the love of Christ, each of you has entered through the gate. You are all sheep of the same sheepfold, and at the same time you each have to be, in a certain sense, a good shepherd to the other sheep. And just as we must allow ourselves to be led and to answer when we are called by name, we have an equally serious duty to contribute to the holiness and perseverance of our brothers and sisters.
None of you is ever alone. You are not an isolated verse: you are all verses of the same divine, epic poem. We donât ever want to see any cracks appearing in this unity. We all want to see harmony reign in Christâs sheepfold. We want to be like a great army, oves et milites Christi (sheep and soldiers of Christ): that is the road to holiness.
Precisely because we love one another we are quick to notice, for example, when someone is out of sorts or unwell. Iâve often told you before that when there is charity - that is, human and supernatural affection -then it is very easy to be aware of the spiritual and material needs of those who live with us, and to be attentive to them. I have often added that if someone ever left the Work for reasons we werenât able to explain, I would not excuse the Directors, and those who lived with that person, from sin - and possibly even grave sin.
Itâs not simply a matter of thinking from time to time about the people we live with, or praying for them every so often. We must give ourselves to them completely, just as a mother devotes herself to her children, and as our Lord gave himself freely for each of us. We must do everything in our power to ensure that those who come to Christâs sheepfold never abandon their vocation, which represents their earthly happiness, and possibly their eternal happiness too. I am quite free to throw my vocation away, our Father said, but if I were so foolish as to want to throw myself out of a window, wouldnât you, out of charity and love, try to stop me?
Our Mother Mary was faithful all her life long, and so we call her Virgo fidelis, Virgin most faithful. Let us make the resolution now to say the Memorare - the saxum prayer - devoutly many times a day for the person in the Work who needs it most.